Bomb attack in Somalia targets police commander; only the bomber is killed

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Police in Somalia say a suicide car bomb attack that targeted a senior police commander in a central Somali town killed only the bomber.

Ali Abdinor, a police officer in the central Somalia town of Galkayo, said that six people were wounded in the blast. He said the car bomb driver rammed his vehicle into a car carrying the deputy police commander of Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia. Abdinor said the deputy commander suffered burns on his upper body.

Though roadside and car bombs are somewhat common in Mogadishu, such attacks are rare in Galkayo. Fighters from the al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab have been moving into northern Somalia after losing territory around Mogadishu and southern Somalia to troops from the African Union coalition.